A MAN who pressed himself up against a woman as she was shopping in Boots has been spared a jail term.

Mustafa Ali sidled up behind the mum, who was with her grown up daughter, and as she bent over to look at items on a lower shelf.

The startled women walked away but the 33-year-old followed and grabbed at the daughter, who is in her twenties, as he pressed himself against her.

And two days later the pervert groped another young woman in Buckhurst Field as she took her child to nursery.

But after hearing Ali, who needed an Italian interpreter, had been in custody since his arrest last summer a judge imposed a community order.

He also made him subject to a sexual offences prevention order which will restrict his liberty for five years and told him he must register as a sex offender.

The mother and daughter were in the chemist's store in the Brunel Centre at 3.30pm on July 2 last year when Ali struck and he targeted the young mum two days later.

Ali, of no fixed abode, admitted two sexual assaults and one attempt. He denied a third sex assault on the first day and that was left to lie on file.

Tristan Harwood, defending, said his client had been in custody since July which is the equivalent of an 18 month jail term.

He said a psychiatric report had found that he did not have any mental disorders and recommended a sentence in the community.

"He is remorseful and the doctor has noted that. He doesn't seek to explain his actions in any other way except for being apologetic," he said.

"All this suggests to me that this is the behaviour of loneliness and perhaps a sexual frustrated young man making extremely inappropriate approaches."

He said that a sexual offences prevention order would restrict him in society as would the input of his offender manager from probation.

Sentencing, Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "When you take into account the distress and fright that you caused these is absolutely no substance in your suggestion that you did this out of loneliness. That is no excuse.

"The mother and daughter described this experience as being very unsettling for each of them. You have affected their lives by what you did.

"You caused them anxiety and fear and panic attacks and they feel unable to go to the town centre at the moment.

"The psychiatrist did not detect any sexually deviant instincts or interests in you, but the matters you revealed to him caused him great concern as well.

"If I serve any period if imprisonment you will probably have served it. I am going to impose a community order with a supervision requirement for 12 months."